Research Article: Reducing Post-Operative Hospital Length of Stay following Uncomplicated Appendectomy in Pediatric Patients: A Prospective Clinical Study
Abstract:
An uncomplicated appendectomy in children is common. Safely minimizing the post-operative length of stay is desirable from hospital, patient, and parent perspectives. In response to an overly long mean length of stay following uncomplicated appendectomies in children of 2.5 days, we developed clinical pathways with the goal of safely reducing this time to 2.0 or fewer days. The project was conducted in an urban, academic children’s hospital. The pathways emphasized the use of oral, non-narcotic pain medications; the education of parents and caregivers about expectations regarding pain control, oral food intake, and mobility; and the avoidance of routine post-operative antibiotic use. A convenience sample of 46 patients aged 3–16 years old was included to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the intervention. The mean post-operative length of stay was successfully reduced by 80% to 0.5 days without appreciable complications associated with earlier discharge. The hospital length of stay following an uncomplicated appendectomy in children may be successfully and safely reduced through the use of carefully devised, well-defined, well-disseminated clinical pathways.
Introduction:
In the United States, an appendectomy for acute appendicitis is the most common surgical procedure among pediatric patients less than 17 years of age, with over 42,000 cases resulting in hospitalization in 2018 [1]. The nationwide incidence of appendicitis for both children and adults is estimated to be 108 per 100,000, with a 6% lifetime risk [2].
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